Society / Featured Parties

Houston’s Own Garden of Good and Evil: This New Orleans-Style Party Pushes the Envelope in a $450,000 Night

BY // 04.11.18

Ah, what a bounteous theme — In the Garden of Good and Evil! Society for the Performing Arts embraced the naughty and nice leitmotif for its annual gala that certainly transformed Bayou Place into a garden, leaving it up to the 300 guests to chose their own dispositions.

Although inspiration for the theme might have originated with the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil , which took place in Savannah, Georgia, the evening evoked a New Orleans mood, suitably Deep South to maintain the necessary aura. And what other city boasts such an intriguing combination of good and evil?

Bergner & Johnson set the stage by creating a lush tableau reminiscent of the Crescent City’s storied Garden District. Fountains flowed, crystal chandeliers burned overhead while greenery and flowers cascaded from every corner.

Melanie Gray and Mark Wawro and Linda and Willie Chiang held the evening spotlight while two other chair couples, Elizabeth and Tim Vail and Sharon and Tim Taylor had to make unavoidable, last-minute cancellations. The advance work of all four couples insured that the evening raised more than $450,000.

Adding to the ambience, New Orleans’ Dirty Dozen Brass Band welcomed guests to the second-floor ballroom and kept the toe-tapping tunes flowing until guests settled in for dinner. That was a special treat from Jackson and Company, which created a Creole-inspired menu — butter bibb lettuce salad with grapefruit and avocado, coffee- and chicory-crusted beef tenderloin and what else for dessert than Bananas Foster with gingersnap cookies.

Once their plates were clean, the partying throng hit the dance floor to juke to the sounds of Dallas-based Off the Rekord Band.  A lush hedge of boxwood surrounded the stage that further added to the New Orleans atmosphere with appointments that included lanterns surrounding the ballroom and huge urns of mixed flowers.

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Seeing no evil: June and Steve Christensen, Stephany Olsen LeGrand and Curt Karges, Eileen and Kase Lawall, Janet and Bill Swanstrom, Patty and Mike Tilton, Stephanie and Kirby Shanks, Jackson Hicks and Milton Townsend, Beverly and Jim Postl, Norah Adams, Noreen and Victor Bhatt, Ellen and John Rutherford, and Katherine and Paul Murphy.

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